Apto Commercial Real Estate Blog

Free for brokers, appraisers and researchers, CompStak Exchange is a platform for real estate professionals to exchange lease comps in an efficient manner. Exchange comp information you have to get credits and redeem those credits for comps you need, when you need them. Simple.

Every now and then when we talk shop with brokers and everyone gets a little more comfortable, there is always an interesting, shocking, or just down right hilarious deal story that comes up. The challenge is that these are not always the kind of stories that are typically shared outside of happy hour. We would like to change that. Enjoy!

This story has been shared anonymously. Names have been changed to protect all egos involved.

Three years into the industrial real estate business in Chicago and long before cell phones, I got a listing on a 60,000 sq. ft. building in the suburbs.

I took my brochures and began canvasing the neighborhood. I came to one manufacturing company several doors away and went into the vestibule, noticed a table with trade magazines all addressed to "Bob Smith, President" so I walked up to the receptionist and confidently asked if "Bob" was in today.

She was not very interested or accommodating and asked, "Do you have an appointment?" I said "no" and she said I need an appointment. I said, "In that case I would like to make an appointment." She said I would have to call for that.

So I asked her if she had a phone that I could use and she buzzed me in and pointed me to a phone several desks away. I asked her "What is your number" and she told me. I dialed and she answered "Hello, Acme Widget Co" and I asked if Bob was in and she put me right through. And I made my pitch to Bob. He invited me in and while he didn't buy the building, he invited me to submit properties to him.

Over the next year or so I dutifully sent properties to him and eventually sold him a new building and sold his old one. Moral of the story: "Don't let the gatekeeper discourage you!"

It won’t surprise you to learn that smartphones and tablets have really taken off in the last 5 years. You may not know the extent of the trend, though: 90% of Americans own a smartphone, and usage of mobile devices grew by 45% in 2014. The number of mobile devices being ordered exceeds the number of desktops and TVs by four or five times.

We're kicking off the month of March by introducing you to Apto's awesome Implementations Team! I asked Kirbie Pillette, Apto Implementation Consultant, to describe the Implementation Team's role:

"The job of the implementations team is to help our clients develop a plan to ensure success with Apto. We assist with customizations that fit our clients unique business requirements. Our projects range in size and scale from a few users getting started in a few days to hundreds of users getting started over the course of a few months. Even if your account is well-past the implementations phase, reach out to us for specific projects and we’d be happy to work with you!"

Find out more about Kirbie and the rest of the fantastic Implementations Team!